How many people reuse coco?

[BCNeil]

Just wondering how many people reuse their coco. If you have any methods for recovering and getting it ready to use with no hassle.

 

[pinecone]

I just chop down to little stumps, cut-dig a new hole, and replant cuts or seed plants.

Pine

 

[Warped1]

Still on my first grow with coco, but I'd like to save at least some of it if I can

 

[krunchbubble]

oh hell no.....

have to start with a clean slate........

 

[megayields]

Well I have re-used in the past...but money is a little better so now I just buy new, and I'm going to buy a butt load for 10 200 gallon smarties this spring! YEAH.....

 

[Guest 88950]

let it get really dry and remove roots......ive done both and recycling is best for me b/c L.E.O. watches hydro stores in this non-med state.

i flush w/ flora kleen for 2 wks so no salt buildup but the coco breaks down with each use so i dont re-use indefinitly.

 

[CannaBuilding]

Been using a pond enzyme known a pond care barley clear, which uses peat/barley concentrated enzymes and so far its been working better than cannazyme.

I just cut around the stem and remove the big roots (pull them out) and i put about a fresh handful of preflushed unused coco ontop of the cut out so that the fresh clone has some new coco to grow into and then it can fight its way through the old coco which is saturated with roots. The above technique is done in 2 litre pots filled with coco only for the first 3 runs, after that, i remove the coco completely from the pot and sift through it removing any roots that i can and then repot the coco, 75 percent used, and 25 percent unused preflushed coco.

Before repotting a clone into used coco, i flush the coco with florakleen and Dutchmaster zone to get rid of any nasty salts and unwanted parasites, pathogens etc.

Above technique has served me well and the plants actually thrive much better in the 2nd and 3rd run when reusing the coco in the 2l pots.

Also found out, cause of the extra root mass in the coco, it retains alot more water and you need give atleast 1-2 days between watering until the roots have spread out through the coco, takes about 14 days in square 2l pots, the pots are then light everyday compared to every 2 - 3 days when first potting the clone.

 

[TheGreenReaper]

reuse over and over. Add back about 10% new each time and just keep rolling. I do this in veg so they basically go into recycled every time at flower. If you feed wrong or too heavy, and/or dont flush right...forget it, your fucked, and it will show up in week 3 of flower without a doubt and lock so fucking hard it will take 3 weeks of flushing to clear up/dry out and reroot etc. By then its time to flush, not start adding nutes... so your grow is trashed...you get the picture.

 

[caljim]

I started reusing my coco about a year ago. For me it wasn't about saving money on the materials. It was about not having to find a place to ditch 30 or 40 gallons of coco every other month.

I just dump the pots from the finished crop into large totes, bust it all up and let it rest until needed.

After drying fully it does become a bit hydrophobic until resaturated, so I have started rehydrating the volume to be used in the same tub set up I use to expand the Botanicare 5kg bricks. After that soak its good to go.

I get out big pieces of root ball but dont worry about the rest.

My plants seem to love the recycled coco, and I love not having to get rid of it.

 

[AOD2012]

Yea, I am with caljim, I just dont have any feasible place to dump 50-100 gallons of this shit every 1-2 months. I need to be a little more careful with how I store though, I left a batch sitting that was way too wet, and I had a nasty outbreak of fungus gnats when I reused the shit.



aod

 

[gaiusmarius]

yep i reuse my coco slabs at least 4x, have used them 7 x before now. it's not about the expense it's about getting just as good results with used coco slabs as with new ones, plus the ninja action of taking old slabs out and bringing new ones in is not fun when you have neighbors. as long as you flush the coco really well before harvest and use enzymes, it's good to go again. the only time i will make an exception is if i have animals in the coco.

as was said by others i just cut the rw cube off the coco slab and put the new one in the same hole 2x then i cut 4 new holes in the slab in between the old holes and use those 2x too. normally by then the first holes are clean again as the roots have broken down.

 

[gaiusmarius]

yep i reuse my coco slabs at least 4x, have used them 7 x before now. it's not about the expense it's about getting just as good results with used coco slabs as with new ones, plus the ninja action of taking old slabs out and bringing new ones in is not fun when you have neighbors. as long as you flush the coco really well before harvest and use enzymes, it's good to go again. the only time i will make an exception is if i have animals in the coco.

as was said by others i just cut the rw cube off the coco slab and put the new one in the same hole 2x then i cut 4 new holes in the slab in between the old holes and use those 2x too. normally by then the first holes are clean again as the roots have broken down.

 

[Headbandf1]

Yep I use mine for 4 pulls then mine goes out to the compost pile.

 

[ScrubNinja]

oh hell no.....

have to start with a clean slate........

It depends how you look at it though. The new coco could potentially be infested with anything, whereas last crops' coco is fairly certain to be clean as long as you deal with the roots.

I've always reused.

 

[sketchy]

Fir4st time I reuse...My only nightmare is that it could be infested by something..I hop in god...


ciau

 

[shroomyshroom]

Have reused coco for my out door grows 3 years in a row... and I must be going crazy cause my plants keep getting better

 

[MrBill1969]

The system I use requires new coco (mix) each go around. Its not much though, as I use the 8" dia airpots (6 liter, I think). I use Botannicare's high aeration ReadyGro with a top drip to waste and it works a charm.

 

[TheGreenReaper]

The system I use requires new coco (mix) each go around. Its not much though, as I use the 8" dia airpots (6 liter, I think). I use Botannicare's high aeration ReadyGro with a top drip to waste and it works a charm.

Why does your system "require" new coco as opposed to coco that is already growing plants?

Welcome to IC btw.

 

[MrBill1969]

Thanks! I've been lurking a bit and there are a lot of knowledgable folks here.

I replace (6 liters/plant) for consistency. The ReadyGro has some added amendments that would be a pita to replace at the same levels and concentrations. I drain to waste, shooting for about a 10% run-off for the same reasons.

If I were growing in larger containers, I'd be figuring out a way to reuse.

 

[habeeb]

Been using a pond enzyme known a pond care barley clear, which uses peat/barley concentrated enzymes and so far its been working better than cannazyme.

I just cut around the stem and remove the big roots (pull them out) and i put about a fresh handful of preflushed unused coco ontop of the cut out so that the fresh clone has some new coco to grow into and then it can fight its way through the old coco which is saturated with roots. The above technique is done in 2 litre pots filled with coco only for the first 3 runs, after that, i remove the coco completely from the pot and sift through it removing any roots that i can and then repot the coco, 75 percent used, and 25 percent unused preflushed coco.

Before repotting a clone into used coco, i flush the coco with florakleen and Dutchmaster zone to get rid of any nasty salts and unwanted parasites, pathogens etc.

Above technique has served me well and the plants actually thrive much better in the 2nd and 3rd run when reusing the coco in the 2l pots.

Also found out, cause of the extra root mass in the coco, it retains alot more water and you need give atleast 1-2 days between watering until the roots have spread out through the coco, takes about 14 days in square 2l pots, the pots are then light everyday compared to every 2 - 3 days when first potting the clone.

excellent info !!

keep it up